"There are more and more Dutch greenhouse strawberries, especially from mid-March, and full soil ones, from late April. If that continues, there's a risk of an ever-shorter Spanish season," says Miguel González of MG Fruit, outlining Spanish strawberries' position on the Dutch market. He does, however, still see room for Spanish strawberries.
"There's space for them in the market until April, possibly around mid-May, because price-wise, certain consumers, supermarkets, and markets find them more interesting than local strawberries. After mid-May, it becomes risky. We've supplied Spanish strawberries until then before, but that was an exception."
The Spanish products also spend less time in transit than, say, strawberries from Morocco. "Spanish growers left for Morocco in the past, but that's stabilized. Morocco has lower labor costs than Spain, but that's rising in Morocco, too. Then, there are the transportation costs. That's obviously pricier from Morocco than Spain, and the products take longer to arrive. Also, port inspections can mean days of delays. Add everything up, and I don't know if producing in Morocco is much more interesting," Miguel reckons.
Morocco still dominates the market in December and January, although Miguel expects the popularity of flown-in strawberries, such as those from Egypt, to diminish. That is due to the declining demand for imported products. Spain, meanwhile, relies heavily on early varieties, but they are weather-dependent, and low nighttime temperatures can halt production. Plastic tunnels offer insufficient protection against temperature differences.
The focus on flavor is a critical development in Spanish strawberry cultivation. "The Spanish strawberry sector knows it only has a place if it has tasty strawberries." That is reminiscent of the 1980s in the Netherlands when bland tomatoes made way for tasty ones. With Spanish strawberries, various varieties are tested for shelf life, productivity, and, above all, flavor. However, the higher the Brix value (sugar content), the shorter the shelf life, which challenges the industry to combine flavor and shelf life.
González points out that packaging can affect the strawberries' shelf life, too. "If you have top quality, you should package them single-layer," he advises. That minimizes the risk of damage and improves the fruit's visibility, decreasing the shelf life issues compared to packaging in punnets.
Miguel sees a future for Spanish strawberries, especially given the emphasis on flavor. If the sector succeeds in combining that and shelf life and tackling the staffing problem with robotization, he sees no alternative to Spanish strawberries. No other European country can match that country's supply from January to April, and that offers a continued role for these strawberries in the Dutch market.
Miguel Gonzalez
MG Fruit
Selderijweg 90-E
2988 DG Ridderkerk
Tel.: +31 (0)6 5126 7933
[email protected]
www.mgfruit.nl